Automatic splicing apparatus

ABSTRACT

An automatic splicing apparatus for splicing yarn by wrapping filament around the yarn, comprising a housing and a drive means mounted therein which rotates a filament wrapping wheel. The filament wrapping wheel has a filament supply mounted thereon and clamping and cutting means secured to the housing hold and cut the yarn being spliced. A filament holder means mounted to the housing retains an end of the filament during the slicing cycle and cuts the filament at the end of the cycle.

United States Patent Fusco et al.

[ 51 June 13, 1972 [54] AUTOMATIC SPLICING APPARATUS [72] inventors:Vito A. Fusco; Charles T. Ogden, both of Chicago, 111.; Walter F.Illman, Greensboro,N.C.

[73] Assignee: Burlington Industries, Inc., Greensboro,

[22] Filed: May 4,1970

[21] Appl. No.: 34,574

[52] U.S. Cl ..57/22 [5 l] .....B65h 69/06, B65h 69/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..57/22, 23, 142, 159

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,765,003 10/1956 Willis etal. ..57/22 X 1,523,878 1/1925 Kelly ..57/22 2,362,801 11/1944 Charnock..57/22 2,846,838 8/1958 Wolfe ....57/22 X 2,971,319 2/1961 Spencer.........57/22 3,307,339 3/1967 Porter ....57/22 3,504,488 4/1970 lllman..57/22 Primary Examiner-John Petrakes Attorney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman57 ABSTRACT An automatic splicing apparatus for splicing yarn bywrapping filament around the yarn, comprising a housing and a drivemeans mounted therein which rotates a filament wrapping wheel. Thefilament wrapping wheel has a filament supply mounted thereon andclamping and cutting means secured to the housing hold and cut the yarnbeing spliced. A filament holder means mounted to the housing retains anend of the filament during the slicing cycle and cuts the filament atthe end of the cycle.

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' INVENTORS 7-0 ,4. Es c' 0 6 /0994 as ifOGaz/v ATTORNEYS AUTOMATICSPLICING APPARATUS The present invention generally relates to animproved apparatus for joining together textile yarns without knottingthe same, and more particularly, to an automatic yarn splicingapparatus.

In the manufacturing of textiles there is a frequent need to splicetogether the ends of various yarns being processed. For example, ifthere is a break in the yarn being processed or if the supply package ofyarn is exhausted and a succeeding supply package of yarn must be joinedto the yarn of the first supply package, the two free ends of the yarnsmust be rejoined to provide continuity to the yarn. Sometimes, theprocessing must be stopped while the operation of joining the ends ofyarn is completed and, hence, any such joining must be accomplishedquickly and with a minimum of delay.

Previously, the joining of yarns was often accomplished by tying a knotin the free ends of the yarns to be spliced, the knot either being tiedby hand or by use of some suitable mechanical equipment designed for thepurpose. There are many occasions in the processing of yarns and themanufacture of textiles when a knot in the yarn is not desirable. Forexample, a knot is normally quite bulky in relation to the diameter ofthe yarn being tied, and, thus, with its bulk and its lack of ability toproperly flex, the knot will make the yarn vulnerable to being trappedand/or broken as the yarn passes through small eyelets or apertures suchas normal reed spacing in the weaving operation. Additionally, suchknots can be objectionable in the finished textile produced as theyprovide imperfections in the surface of such fabric. Currently, theseknots are hand pulled from the surface of the fabric when the fabric isa high quality material. The splicing of the ends of yarn together hasbeen used in the manufacture of textiles primarily by utilizing splicingcompounds, the splicing compounds being applied to overlapping free endsof the yarns and the yarn ends rolled together. This type of splicinghas disadvantages in that the compound is quite tacky when applied andthere is a time delay involved in waiting for the splicing compound todry. Additionally, once the splicing compounds has dried, an undesirablyhard joint surrounds the yarns, thus preventing this part of the yarnfrom folding in limp convolutions about other yarns during and/or afterweaving. The hard dried splicing material quite often hangs up on smalleyelets, reed dents or the like thus causing the yarn to break or thematerial to dye differently.

An additional means of splicing yarns which has developed over therecent years, utilizes a wrapping thread or filament for wrapping thetwo ends of yarn together. The prior apparatus which has been previouslyutilized for making this type of splice has been quite cumbersome andstationary thus limiting its adaptability of use in the textile plantorhaving the disadvantage of causing. the yarns to be spliced to have amigration or loss of twist at the splice.

The present invention provides an improved automatic splicing apparatuswhich is capable of use on yarns irregardless of whether the yarns arespun fromnatural fibers, synthetic fibers, animal fibers or mineralfibers, and can splice any yarn from fine count spun and worsted yarnsup to very coarse carpet yarns. The resulting splice or joint initiatedby the present invention is as strong or stronger than the strength ofthe yarns being joined, with the splice retaining the flexibility to adegree similar to the flexibility of the yarns being spliced so that thesplice does not interfere with the fold around other yarns of the finalwoven fabric in which the yarn is used.

The use of the present inventionsaves time, labor costs and enables ahigh quality product to be manufactured in a shorter time than withmachines now in use.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear moreclearly from the following specifications in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the automatic splicer apparatus with therack cylinder broken away for clarity;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the automatic splicer apparatus shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of FIG. I taken along line 3 3;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along line 4 4;

FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the wrapping wheel assembly of the automaticsplicer apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 5 taken substantially along theline 6 6;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 5 taken substantially along theline 7 7;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along line 8 8, showingthe wrapping wheel drive means;

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of FIG. 2 showing the auxiliary drivemeans;

' FIG. 10 is a sectional view of FIG. 4 showing the cam assembly drivemeans;

FIG. 11 is a partial cross sectional view taken from FIG. I along line 11' 11' showing the cam plate assembly;

FIG. 12 shows an end view of 'cam plate assembly shown in FIG. 11 inrelation to the apparatus;

FIG. 13 is a plan view .of the automatic splicer apparatus with portionstaken away for clarity;

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 13 taken along line 14 14;

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of the upper cut finger assembly;

FIG. 16 is an end elevation of the upper cut finger assembly shown inFIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a side view of the lower cut finger assembly;

FIG. 18 is an end elevation of the lower cut finger assembly shown inFIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a top plan view of the clamp finger assembly;

FIG. 20 is an end elevation of the clamp finger assembly in FIG. 19;

FIG. 2Ia-h shows the sequential steps of the filament wrap during thesplicing cycle;

FIG. 22 is a graph illustrating the cam sequence of the clamping fingerassembly;

FIG. 23 is a side view of the filament holder assembly;

FIG. 24 is an end elevation of the blade assembly of the filament holderassembly shown in FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a side view of the filament holder assembly mounted in theautomatic splicer apparatus;

FIG. 26 is a perspective top view of the automatic splicer apparatusshowing the filament holder assembly; and

FIG. 27 is a schematic view of'an electric circuit operating saidautomatic splicer apparatus.

The present automatic splicer invention is preferably designed toreplace the knot tying mechanism in a machine similar to the ones whichare shown by US. Pats, Nos. 3,077,311 and 3,061,216. A machine of thistype travels on a way bed and services the winding stations of anautoconer machine which winds yarn onto large spools from smallerbobbins. The automatic splicer apparatus can however be used in machinesof different construction. If the yarn breaks during the windingoperation, the machine is signaled to stop at that station and tie thebroken ends. If the bobbin has simply run out of yarn, the machine willautomatically change bobbins, tie the yarn ends of the full bobbin tothe spool's yarn, and signal the spool to resume the winding operation.

The automatic splicing device, as disclosed by FIGS. 1-4, is designed tofit in the area which is occupied by a knot tying mechanism in machinessimilar to the above mentioned machines. When signaled, the apparatuswill splice the yarn ends together with a low temperature, water-solublefilament, which will be washed out after the yarn is woven into cloth,leaving the splice indiscemable in the material.

On the present automatic splicing machine, when a broken thread or yarnis detected, the traveling splicer head stops at that station, picks upthe broken ends of the yarn or thread and places them in parallelrelationship in the wrapping wheel assembly for splicing. The presentinvention is primarily concerned with splicing the yarn after it hasbeen placed in the wrapping wheel assembly.

The splicing of the yarn or thread is controlled by a cam in thetraveling splicer head. An actuator lever 600, having a contact pin 602,as is shown by FIG. 25, is positioned on the end of the shaft of thiscam and rotates to operateelectrical switch SW1. This switch stops thedrive motor 612 of the traveling splicer head and initiates the wrappingcycle.

The wrapping is started by the rotation of the wrapping wheel assembly100. The rotatable wrapping wheel assembly 100, comprises a drive bodyassembly 102 and an insert plate assembly 104, as is shown by FIGS. 5, 6and 7. The insert plate assembly 104 is held in place on the drive bodyassembly 102 by a retaining clip or spring 106, which allows the insertplate assembly to be easily removed from the drive body assembly bydepressing the two tabs or ends 108 of the clip or spring 106. Theinsert plate assembly 104 comprises an insert plate 110 and a filament,thread or yarn cartridge assembly 112 mounted or secured thereon. Thefilament cartridge assembly 112 is held in place or secured to theinsert plate 110 by a mount or bracket 116. The mount 116 is secured tothe insert plate 110 by welding, screwing means, riveting, adhesives orother suitable means and preferably has a substantially L- shaped arm orsupport 114 extending therefrom which supports a bobbin or filamentsupply holder 120. If desired, the mount 116 can support a substantiallyU-shaped arm or post to support the bobbin or spool 120. The bobbin orspool 120 is preferably flanged at 119 and a outer case 118 which can beof plastic construction is snapped or slid over the end flanges. Thebobbin 120 is preferably able to rotate on arm 114 or on a projectionextending therefrom. It is of course obvious that the bobbin does nothave to be covered but that the case 118 gives greater protection to thefilament 122.

The wrapping filament thread or yarn 122 which is wound around bobbin orspool 120 is preferably made from a water soluble material such assodium alginate, hydroxyethyl amylose, polyvinyl alcohol, and the likeand is preferably around 0.002 inch in diameter. By making the wrappingfilament thread or yarn 122 of a water soluble material, the splice madeon the yarn ends may be dissolved out when the woven fabric or the likepasses through a wet finishing operation. In other words, the wrappingfilament 122 can readily be removed from the splice during anysubsequent wet processing of the material woven from the yarn such as adesizing process or the like. The filament 122 which forms the splice S,shown in FIGS. 21a-h, is wound around the bobbin or spool 120 and is fedoutward between the plastic case 118 and the bobbin or spool 120 orthrough a center hole in one of the flanges 119 of the bobbin.Regardless of the embodiment used, the filament preferably passesthrough an eyelet 124, preferably of pigtail construction and which maybe secured to mount 116 or to the insert plate 110. The filament 122 isplaced in contact with tension means 126 which is preferably adjustablymounted on the insert plate 110 by thread means. The tension on thefilament is derived by tightening the tension means 126, compressingspring 128 which urges plate 127 against the filament, increasing thetension on filament 122, or by loosening the tension means and thuslessening the tension on filament 122. The tension means applies auniform constant tension on the splicing filament, yarn or thread beingcarried by the bobbin or supply means as the splice is being made,irregardless of the amount of splicing filament, thread or yarnremaining on bobbin 120. If desired, the filament, thread or yarn of thebobbin can be adjustably tensioned on the bobbin by tension means whichapplies drag or friction to the bobbin thus resisting its tendency torotate. Irregardless of the form of tension means applied to thefilament, the filament 122 preferably passes through a filament guide130 which guides the filament during the wrapping or splicing process.It should be noted that the wrapping filament 122 develops a highwrapping torque because of the rotation of the wrapping wheel assemblyand even though the wrapping thread or filament may not possess highstrength properties, the resulting splice or joint will be as strong orstronger than the strength of the yarns being joined. Additionally, thesplice retains the flexibility to a degree similar to flexibility of theyarns or threads being spliced and, thus, the splice does not interferewith the fold around other yarns of the final woven fabric in which theyarn or thread is used. It should also be noted that if desired, theinsert plate 110 can have optional weight balances 135 to provide auniform rotational plane for the wrapping wheel assembly, if for anyreason it is out of balance.

When the threads or yarn Y and Y, as shown in FIG. 21a-h are positionedparallel and coaxial with the axis of rotation of the wrapping wheelassembly they do not twist about one another. When the filament orthread 122 orbits about Y and Y thus delivering the splicing filament122 from its bobbin or spool 120, the torque of the splicing filament122 is sufficiently great so that the filament is embedded into thebulky yarns Y and Y being spliced, and the splice S compacts the pair ofyarns to a diameter resembling one of the component yarns Y or Y.

The drive body assembly 102 which holds the insert plate assembly 104,can be an integrally cast or machined unit which is suitably constructedto receive the insert plate of the insert plate assembly 104 and theretaining ring or clip 106. However, the drive body assembly can beconstructed in sections if this is desirable. If desired, gear teethportions of the assembly 102 can be removably secured to the drive bodyassembly for easy replacement because of wear or breakage. The drivebody assembly 102 preferably has an aperture or hollow arcuate section133 to accommodate yarn Y and Y coaxial with the axis of rotation of thewrapping wheel assembly 100, an outer grooved rim 132 and a plurality ofgear teeth 134 or gear teeth segments which cooperate with the drivemeans.

The wrapping wheel assembly 100 preferably has a pieshaped segment 137removed from the insert plate 110 and drive body assembly 102, inaddition aperture 133 to insert the yarn Y and Y for splicing. Becauseof this open segment in the drive body assembly 102 and consequent lackof gear teeth it is necessary to have two driving pinion gears 200 and202 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 14 to rotate it. The driving pinion gearsare mounted on roller bearing means 205 which rotate around pinionshafts 203. The pinion shafts 203 extend through and are supported bythe upper wrapping wheel support cover 145 and the lower wrapping wheelsupport cover 147. The driving pinion gears 200 and 202 are spacedsufficiently far apart so that at least one of the pinion gears willalways engage the rotating gear teeth 134 on the drive body assembly 102regardless of its position. The driving pinion gears are preferablyconstructed to have an extension or keeper 207 which slidably moves in agroove 109 on the outer surface of the outer rim 132. The action of thedrive pinion gear extension or keeper 207 in channel or groove 109 keepsthe wrapping wheel assembly smoothly rotating and the gear teeth of thewrapping wheel assembly 100 and pinion gear 200 and 202 aligned anduniformly engaging each other. Side rollers 136 and 138, as shown byFIG. 13, and end rollers 140 and 142, as shown by FIG. 1, keep thewrapping wheel assembly 100 smoothly rotating on an even axis and inconnection with driving pinion gears 200 and 202. The rollers 136, 138,140 and 142 are rotatably mounted on shafts which are supported by upperwrapping wheel support cover 145 and lower wrapping wheel support cover147. Rollers 136, 138, and 142 rotate around shafts 135 on bearing means139. When the wrapping wheel assembly is rotating, its periphery can becontacted at six places, namely by pinion gears 200 and 202 and rollers136, 138, 140 and 142. The open or substantially pieshaped segment 137,which is removed from the wrapping wheel assembly, preferably comprisesan approximately 50 segment of the wrapping wheel assembly, while thepinion gears 200 and 202 are preferably placed 60 apart. It is apparent,of course, that the pinion gears can be placed in any position, so longas they operate to turn the wrapping wheel assembly. The gear toothsegment of the wrapping wheel preferably contains 54 teeth and is cutfrom a 68-tooth gear. Since the wheel driving gear 204 has the samenumber of teeth as :the wrapping wheel would have if it were a solidgear, the wheel driving gear 204 always maintains an exact angularrelationship to the wrapping wheel assembly 100.

The wrapping wheel assembly is rotated by the gear drive means shown byFIGS. 8, 9, and 1 1.

A motor, not shown, operating from a suitable power source turnsorrotates the main drive shaft 206 which is mounted in a plurality of ballbearing means 208 and 210, as shown by FIG. '8. Ball bearing means 208is positioned in the drive shaft housing 212 and is kept in position inhousing 212 by clip means 214 which surrounds drive shaft 206. Ballbearing means 210 is positioned in housing 212 by abutting against adrive gear 218 which is secured at the end of the drive shaft 206. The

drive shaft 206 has an auxiliary gear 216 mounted thereon which may besecured to the drive shaft by pin means 217. However, any other suitablemeans of securing auxiliary gear 216 to the drive shaft 206 can be used.Gear 218 is mounted on the end of shaft 206 and secured thereto by keymeans 219 so that the drive gear 218 rotates with shaft 206 andintermeshes with output gear 220, driving output gear 220. Output gear220 is preferably secured to a varied diameter staged output shaft 222bykey means 224. It should be noted that while the key means mentionedare preferred, any other suitable securing means can be used. Outputshaft 222 is mounted in roller bearing means 226 and 228 which arepositioned against the output shaft housing 230 by ,abuting against awall formed by the increased diameter stages of output shaft 222 andrespective clip means 232 and 234. Gears 218 and 220 are preferablymiter gears and as mentioned are secured to their respective shafts bysuitable means such as keys 219 and 224. The key means preferably fit ina slot in the shaft. The output shaft 222 which is turned by-thecooperation of gears 218 and 220 rotates a wheel drive gear 204 which issecured to output shaft 222 by key means 236. As shown by FIGS. 13 and14, the wheel drive gear 204 drives pinion drive gears 200 and 202 whichin turn rotate the wrapping wheel assembly 100. The wheel drive gear 204has pin means 238 projecting therefrom which is secured to the wheeldrive gear. and rotates as the wheel drive gear 204 rotates. Apositioning pinion gear 240 is mounted above the drive gear andismounted on output shaft 222 by roller bearing means 242 and 244, whichcontact the outer surface of the output shaft. Positioned inside thepositioning pinion gear 240 is a roller clutch 246 which is constructedto contactthe outer surface of output shaft 222 in only one direction.When the teeth of rack 404 engage the teeth of the pinion gear 240,because the rack is carried forward by piston 402, the roller clutch 246engages the outer surface of the output shaft 222 thus turning the wheeldrive gear 204. When the rack 404' is carried in the opposite directionby the retraction of piston 402 which is activated by cylinder 400, theroller clutch 246 disengages from the outer surface of output shaft 222allowing the positioning pinion gear to rotate on its roller bearingmeans. Auxiliary drive means which are run off the wrapping wheel drivemeans, drive cams which control the fluid or air cylinders whichactivate the cutting and clamping means and the cam which causes thesecutting and clamping means to oscillate up and down during the filamentwrapping segment of the splicing cycle.

As shown by FIGS. 4, 8 and 9, an auxiliary drive gear 216, mounted onthe drive shaft 206 by pin or other suitable means 217, engages andturns asecond auxiliary drive gear 248 which is suitably secured to aworm shaft 250. The worm shaft 250 is mounted in roller bearing means253 and 254 which are suitably positionedin housing 212. The rotating ofworm shaft 250 turns a worm 252 which is secured to the worm shaft 250.As shown by FIGS. 8a and 10 the rotation of worm 252 turns a worm gear256, which engages worm 252, the worm gear 256 being secured by keymeans 257 to a shaft 258. The shaft 258 is mounted in roller bearingmeans 260 and 262 which are suitably positioned in housing 212 by meansof spacers 264 and 266. Spacer 264 substantially surrounds shaft 258between roller bearing means 260 and worm gear 256 while spacer 266substantially surrounds shaft 258 between roller bearing means 262 andworm gear 256. A cam drive gear 268 is mounted at one end of shaft 258and secured by key means 270 and is preferably located outside of thehousing 212. It is noted that cam drive gear 268 can be located withinhousing 212. The cam drive gear 268 is kept in place on the shaft 258 bykey means 270 which preferably fits into a slot on the shaft and aspring clip 272 which surrounds the outer surface of the shaft. As shownby FIGS. 9 and 11, the rotation of cam drive gear 268 drives cam gear274 which is mounted to a cam drive shaft 276 and secured by key means278. A cam plate assembly 275 is secured to cam gear 274 by pin means290. Cam drive shaft 276 is mounted in roller bearing means 280 and 282which are positioned against the housing 212 by a spacer 284. The camplate assembly 275, as shown by FIGS. 11 and 12, comprises a cam hub 286which surrounds a portion of shaft 276 and flanges outward as shown by288. The cam hub 286 is secured by pin means 290 to cam gear 274. Thecam hub flange 288 serves as a spacer for cam plate 291. Cam plate 291,cam plate 292 and cam plate 293 are mounted on cam hub 286 and are keptfrom rotating on the cam hub by pin means 290 which extends through anaperture in each cam plate. Cam plates 291 and 292 are separated fromeach other by spacer means 294 and camplates 292 and 293 are separatedfrom each other by spacer means'295. A spring clip 296 around hub 286holds cam plate 293 against spacer means 295, and another clip 273 holdshub 286 in position on shaft 276. On the other end of shaft 276 andpreferably outside housing 212 isan oscillating cam 297 which is securedto shaft 276 by key means 298. The oscillating cam is constructed tocontact cam follower 277, as shown by FIGS. 1 and 4. The

oscillating cam 297 is held in place on the shaft by spring clip means299 which surrounds shaft 276. The oscillating cam 297 operates to causethe cutting and clamping means to oscillate up and down during thesplicing cycle. FIG. 12 shows a sectional view of the cam plate assemblyoperating the timing switches.

It should be noted that in the auxiliary gearing spur gears can besubstituted having 1 A ratio and a worm set of a 40-1 ratio having anominal reduction of 50-1. These change gears can be mounted on theoutside of the gear box. Additionally, two 27-toothed gears can be usedwhich provide a l-l external ratio or a 50-1 total. Another set, one a24-toothed gear and one a 30-toothed gear can provide an external ratioof l.25 l or 0.8 1. By using these ratios it is easily shown that theoverall ratio with the auxiliary gears can go from 40-1 to 62 A 1.Therefore, 40, 50, or 62 V; wraps of filament for the splice areavailable depending on the gear ratio chosen.

Positioned relative to the wrapping wheel assembly are clamping andcutting fingers as shown by FIGS. 21a-h.

In the splicing apparatus these respective fingers or assemblies clampthe ends of the threads or yarn that are parallelly and axiallypositioned in the wrapping head assembly, and cut off the ends of eachthread or yarn during the splicing cycle at a certain time which iscontrolled by cam plate assembly 275. The cut thread or yarn ends arethen sucked up or disposed of by suitable thread disposal means. Theaction of the fingers or cutting and clamping assemblies is shown byFIGS. 21 and 22. FIG. 14 shows the position of the clamp fingerassemblies 300 and 302, one above the wrapping wheel assembly 100 andthe other below the wrapping wheel assembly. Clamp finger assembly 300holds the threads or yarn to be spliced in cooperation with the uppercut finger assembly 304 and clamp finger assembly 302 holds the threadsor yarn to be spliced in cooperation with lower cut finger assembly 306.The four gripping or clamping cylinders 310, 340, 341 and 370 operatethe start of the wrapping cycle. The cutting cylinders 312 and 372operate later in the cycle at a precise time according to the positionof the thread and set number of wraps of filament 122. These functionsare controlled by the cam plate assembly 275 which is rotated inrelation to the number of turns of the wrapping wheel.

1. An automatic splicing apparatus for wrapping filament around yarncomprising a housing, drive means mounted in said housing, said drivemeans operating a filament wrapping wheel, said filament wrapping wheelhaving a filament supply mounted thereon, clamping and cutting meanssecured to said housing to hold and cut said yarn being wrapped, afilament holder means mounted to said housing, said filament holdermeans retaining an end of said filament during a wrapping cycle and saidfilament holder means having means for cutting said filament at the endof said cycle, and tensioning means carried by said filament wrappingwheel for maintaining a tension on filament being drawn from saidsupply.
 2. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid drive means includes an auxiliary drive means having cam means toprovide for vertical oscillation of said clamping and cutting means. 3.An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein saidauxiliary drive means comprises a drive shaft, said drive shaft beingmounted in a plurality of roller bearing means, said roller bearingmeans being secured to a housing, means to rotate said drive shaft, aworm secured to said auxiliary drive shaft, said worm engaging a wormgear to rotate said worm gear, said worm gear being secured to a shaft,said shaft being mounted in a plurality of roller bearing meanspositioned in said housing, a drive gear secured to said shaft, saiddrive gear cooperating with a cam plate assembly to turn said cam plateassembly.
 4. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 3wherein said cam plate assembly comprises a cam gear secured to a camshaft, a cam huB mounted on said shaft, a plurality of cam platesmounted on said cam hub, said cam plates being separated by a pluralityof cam spacers, and means to secure said plurality of cam plates and camhub to said cam gear.
 5. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed inclaim 4 wherein said cam shaft has separate cam means secured thereto.6. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidclamping and cutting means to hold and cut said yarn being wrappedcomprises a plurality of cut finger assemblies and a plurality of clampfinger assemblies.
 7. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said wrapping wheel assembly comprises a drive bodyassembly having an insert plate assembly removably mounted thereto, saidinsert plate assembly having a filament supply means mounted thereon. 8.An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein said drivebody assembly is substantially C-shaped and the outer surface of thedrive body assembly has gear means.
 9. An automatic splicing apparatusas claimed in claim 8 wherein said gear means are removable gearsections.
 10. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 7wherein said insert plate assembly has a substantially pie-shapedsection removed.
 11. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim7 wherein said filament supply means comprises a mount secured to saidinsert plate assembly, said mount having a support arm extendingtherefrom, a bobbin mounted on said support arm, and adjustable tensionmeans to provide tension on a filament coming from the bobbin.
 12. Anautomatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein said bobbinhas a protective casing mounted thereon.
 13. An automatic splicingapparatus for wrapping yarn with filament comprising a housing, drivemeans mounted in said housing, said drive means being positioned torotate a wrapping wheel assembly, said wrapping wheel assembly having afilament supply mounted thereto, a filament holder assembly mounted insaid housing, said filament holder assembly being provided with means toretain the filament under tension during a splicing cycle and means tocut the filament at the end of the splicing cycle, means to hold and cutsaid yarn being wrapped with filament, and means to automaticallyoperate said wrapping wheel assembly, filament holder assembly andholding and cutting means during a splicing cycle.
 14. An automaticsplicing apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein said drive meanscomprises a drive shaft, means to turn said drive shaft, a gear securedto said drive shaft, said gear engaging a second gear when said driveshaft is rotated, said second gear being secured to an output shaft,said output shaft having a drive wheel gear secured thereon, said drivewheel gear engaging a plurality of pinion gears, said plurality ofpinion gears engaging and driving said wrapping wheel assembly.
 15. Anautomatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein said firstgear and said second gear are miter gears.
 16. An automatic splicingapparatus as claimed in claim 15 wherein said gear means comprises apositioning pinion gear mounted on an output shaft, said positioningpinion gear having roller clutch means allowing said pinion gear torotate freely around said output shaft in one direction and to engageand turn said output shaft in the other direction causing a wheel drivegear secured to said output shaft to rotate.
 17. An automatic splicingapparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein said wheel drive gear has aprotruding pin positioned to strike a latch when said wheel drive gearis rotated by said positioning pinion gear, said latch closing switchmeans indicating the wrapping wheel assembly is positioned correctly.18. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein saidgears are secured to said drive shaft and output shaft by key means. 19.An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein saidwheel drive gear has a pin projEcting therefrom.
 20. An automaticsplicing apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein said drive means has awrapping wheel assembly positioning means, said wrapping wheel assemblypositioning means positioning said wrapping wheel assembly insubstantially the same position at the start of each splicing cycle. 21.An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein saidwrapping wheel assembly positioning means comprises a fluid cylindersecured to said housing, a piston slidably mounted in said fluidcylinder, a toothed rack carried by said piston, said toothed rackengaging gear means to turn said wrapping wheel assembly to apredetermined position.
 22. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimedin claim 13 wherein said means to hold and cut said yarn being wrappedwith filament comprises a plurality of cut finger assemblies and aplurality of clamp finger assemblies.
 23. An automatic splicingapparatus as claimed in claim 22 wherein each of said cut fingerassemblies comprises a plurality of fluid cylinders, each of said fluidcylinders having a piston slidably mounted therein, linkage secured toeach said piston, said linkage connecting each of said pistons tocutting and clamping means.
 24. An automatic splicing apparatus asclaimed in claim 23 wherein one of said pistons activates a clampingmeans and another of said pistons activates a cutting means.
 25. Anautomatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 22 wherein at least oneof said finger assemblies is an upper cut finger assembly, said uppercut finger assembly comprising a plurality of fluid cylinders, each ofsaid fluid cylinders having a piston slidably mounted therein, one ofsaid pistons being secured to link arm, the other of said pistons beingconnected to a shaft by a plurality of links, said shaft extendingthrough one of said plurality of links, said link arm and a stationarythread holder secured to a housing, said shaft being able to be rotatedby the action of the other of said pistons moving said plurality oflinks to turn a blade secured to said shaft and bordering saidstationary thread holder.
 26. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimedin claim 22 wherein at least one of said cut finger assemblies is alower cut finger assembly, said lower cut finger assembly comprising aplurality of fluid cylinders, each of said fluid cylinders having apiston slidably mounted therein, one of said pistons being secured to alink arm having an aperture therethrough, the other of said pistonsbeing connected to a plurality of links, one of said links having anaperture therethrough, a shaft extending through said link aperture,said link arm aperture and a stationary thread holder secured to ahousing, said shaft being able to be rotated by the action of the otherof said pistons moving said plurality of links to turn a blade securedthereto and bordering said stationary thread holder.
 27. An automaticsplicing apparatus as claimed in claim 22 wherein each of said clampfinger assemblies cooperates with a cut finger assembly to hold yarn tobe spliced, each of said clamp finger assemblies comprising a fluidcylinder, a piston slidably mounted in said fluid cylinder, and linkagesecured to said piston, the other end of said linkage being secured toclamp means.
 28. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimed in claim 27wherein said clamp means comprises a stationary thread holder having anaperture therethrough, said stationary thread holder being secured to aclamp finger housing, a link arm having at least one aperture therein, ashaft inserted through one of said link arm apertures and saidstationary thread holder aperture, said shaft having a clamp platesecured thereto, means to prevent said shaft from rotating inside saidlink arm and spring means surrounding a portion of said shaft andcontacting said link arm.
 29. An automatic splicing apparatus as claimedin claim 28 wherein said means to prevent said shaft from rotatinginside said link arm is a pin inSerted into said link arm aperture and acoaxially aligned shaft aperture.
 30. An automatic splicing apparatus asclaimed in claim 13 wherein said filament holder assembly comprises astationary inner shaft, a rotatably outer shaft surrounding said innershaft, spring means secured to said outer shaft to urge said outer shaftinto a set position, cam means mounted on said outer shaft, said cammeans acting in cooperation with a cam plate to rotate said outer shaftand cutting means mounted on said outer shaft.
 31. An automatic splicingapparatus as claimed in claim 30 wherein said cutting means comprises astationary scissor blade secured to said inner shaft, a stationary clampmounted on said outer shaft, said stationary clamp being secured to saidstationary scissor blade and a movable scissor blade mounted on saidouter shaft and positioned between said stationary clamp and saidstationary scissor blade.
 32. An automatic thread splicing apparatus forwrapping filament around yarn comprising a housing, drive means mountedin said housing, said drive means being positioned to rotate a wrappingwheel assembly, said wrapping wheel assembly having a filament supplymounted thereto, a filament holder means secured to said housing, saidfilament holder means retaining said filament during a splicing cycleand cutting said filament at the end of the splicing cycle, a pluralityof cut finger assemblies and clamp finger assemblies mounted on saidhousing to hold and cut said yarn being wrapped; and circuit means forcontrolling said cut finger assemblies and clamp finger assembliesduring a splicing cycle.
 33. An apparatus a claimed in claim 32 whereinsaid yarn includes a first piece having a first severed end and a secondnon-severed end and a second piece having a first severed end and asecond non-severed end, wherein said clamp finger assemblies include afirst assembly for holding said first piece adjacent said second end anda second assembly for holding said second piece adjacent said secondend, wherein said cut finger assemblies include a first assembly forholding said first piece adjacent its severed end and adjacent thenon-severed end of said second piece and for cutting the severed end ofsaid first piece and a second assembly for holding said second pieceadjacent its severed end and adjacent the non-severed end of said firstpiece and for cutting the severed end of said second piece, a source offluid above atmospheric pressure and control means operativelyassociated with said circuit means for controlling the application offluid pressure from said source to said first and second assemblies,whereby wherein said first and second assemblies of said clamp fingerassemblies and said first and second assemblies of said cut fingerassemblies operate to hold and to cut respectively when connected tosaid a source of fluid at a pressure above atmospheric pressure, andwherein said circuit means includes means for applying said source tosaid assemblies.
 34. An apparatus as in claim 33 wherein said circuitmeans includes a first relay which, when activated connects said sourceto said first and second assemblies of said clamp finger assemblies andto said first and second assemblies of said cut finger assemblies tohold said first and second pieces, a second relay which, when activated,connects said source to said first assembly of said cut fingerassemblies for cutting the non-severed end of said first piece and athird relay which, when activated, connects said source to said secondassembly of said cut finger assemblies for cutting the non-severed endof said second piece.
 35. An automatic splicing apparatus for wrappingfilament around yarn ends held in an overlapping relationshipcomprising: wrapping means for wrapping filament around said yarn endsso as to form a filament wrap around the yarn ends which extends for adistance along the overlapped ends to retain the yarn ends together,clamping means for receiving and holding said yaRn ends in anoverlapping relationship during the wrapping, filament supply meansmounted in an enclosed housing on said wrapping means for supplyingfilament, adjustable tension means positioned adjacent said filamentsupply means for applying a uniform tension on the filament during thewrapping, drive means operatively associated with said wrapping meansfor rotating said filament supply means around said overlapped yarn endsso that filament is drawn from said filament supply means through saidtension means thereby producing a tensioned splice, yarn cutting meansoperatively associated with said wrapping means for cutting said yarnends back so that the cut ends can be overwrapped with said filament,and filament cutting means for cutting said filament after the wrappinghas been completed so that the portion of filament used in producing thesplice is separated from said filament supply means.